Gospel News — Jan-Apr 2013

The Bible says that God has put life and death in front of us to choose (Deut 30:19). Israel had to choose whether to move out from the bondage in Egypt or to remain, but they would have to abide in the laws of God in order to be accepted by Him.

"If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh" (Joshua 24:15). There is a blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience; it is up to us whether we follow God's given commandments or not.

"Behold, all souls are mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins, he shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). So it is up to God to act upon which soul has sinned.

Cain and Abel were given the opportunity to sacrifice to God, but Cain chose his way by taking his farming product of the field, ignoring the principle that blood must be shed. Abel's sacrifice was accepted because he chose the right way by bringing an animal sacrifice.

God gives a blessing but it depends upon deeds if the blessing is obtained or not (Ephesians 1:3). God can see any limitations where man cannot. God knows the future, He knows the time of the coming of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Although there are some people who claim to see the future and many people who believe them, it is impossible. "For there are those called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are gods many and lords many, yet for us there is only one God" (1 Cor 8:5). God is bringing us near to him, but there is a condition attached – calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). It depends on what you hear and how you respond.

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To The Newly Immersed

Bro. Friday Enyiogu (Oboro, Nigeria)

As newly immersed, having submitted to the obedience which Christ requires, you have made a good start on the road which leads to life eternal.

A blessed prize is before you which is well worth your greatest perseverance to obtain. Christ told his disciples that in the world they would have tribulation and this also applies to us for Paul writes the same thing: "Whom Yahweh loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb.12:6). Yet we have the consolation of knowing that we have a faithful high priest, who was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, to intercede for us at the right hand of God. Christ has trodden the same narrow way which he has now called upon you to follow. He has borne its sorrows and felt its bitter trials and temptations and he watches with interest your growth in the Truth. He is watching and noting the changes which it is making in your walk and conversation. The smallest event in your life is known to Him.

He bids you to continue steadfast to the end. He invites you to come to him when you are weary and heavy laden and says he will give you rest. He warns you not to look back upon the world you have left. Its pleasures must no longer have an interest for you. The Word of God must be your only guide, and this fact we commend to you most earnestly, since your spiritual strength depends on your constant reading and meditation of the Word. If you make this your study, and the precepts it teaches the daily rule of your walk and conversation, then after the care and anxieties of the present life are over; you will receive an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God. God grant that you may be strengthened and immovably fixed in this blessed faith, so that you may be able to use words of Paul written in Romans 8:35.